Jeremy-068
The heavy weapons specialist of Indigo Team, Jeremy-068 has a fondness for firepower. Like all Spartan-II personnel, he is more than proficient in all UNSC weaponry, and most Covenant equipment, but he prefers heavy firepower - be it machineguns, flamethrowers, plasma cannons, rocket launchers, and so on. He also has a dramatic flair, and though Indigo Team itself remains classified November Black, rumours of his actions have still endered the growing battlefield mythology that has sprung up around the Spartans. History Recruitment Jeremy's earliest memories are of the cruel and harsh streets of Moscow. Despite becoming a major metropolis, a hub of commerce and site of three Orbital Tethers that loomed high over the city, and possessing one of the largest spaceports on Earth, other aspects of the city's existence escape the notice of a casual observer - a rising unemployment rate, the shockingly poor infrastructure of parts of the lower city, and a level of child poverty that one would think impossible in the 26th Century nevertheless persists. Among the hundreds of orphans forced to raise themselves in the cruel undercity was Jeremy-068, a low-level member of one of Moscow's minor gangs, specialising in pickpocketing and minor theft. By the age of seven, he had already amassed a significant track record and was well-known to police, with a reputation for daring and thrill-seeking. His sudden and mysterious absence was not mourned by many of his childhood "friends" or by the police, and no flash-clone was ever created as a cover story - nobody ever looked for the young orphan. His reaction to being abducted by ONI for the SPARTAN-II Program was unusual amongst the candidates - in the Spartan training, Jeremy had finally found the challenge he had been seeking, and set himself dilligently to work becoming the best he could be at everything he could do. By 2525, he had become one of the strongest and most skilled martial artists among the Spartans, and had proven himself a capable tactician, though others surpassed him strategically. Concerns were raised by the trainers at the sheer aggression of Jeremy's actions, as well as his unpredictable nature - while unpredictability can catch enemy forces offguard, it can also interfere with friendly operations. Induction Into Indigo During augmentation, complications arose that could have proven catastrophic. For the most part, the augmentations were successful, including the muscular enhancements. Towards the end of the augmentation process, however, Jeremy suffered a myocardian infarction. Efforts by the medical staff present were unable to revive him, and after thirty minutes he was pronounced legally dead. Resuscitating as he was being wheeled to the Hospital Ship's morgue, Jeremy was quickly siphoned off by ONI as a part of Project INDIGO - he would not be the only Spartan recruited in this manner, and as far as his fellow recruits were concerned Jeremy had died during augmentation. Teamed up with Andrew-306 and Laura-125, the newly formed Indigo Team was soon deployed into combat operations. The early engagements that Indigo Team are classified November Black, and even their later engagements can only be pieced together from rumour, speculation, and a little good intel. All efforts by ONI to keep track of them seem to have been halted at every turn by higher authorities, working to Indigo Team's advantage. Until 2529, Indigo was forced to don customised equipment from an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper unit - though not exactly sticks and stones, they still managed to pull off actions that would be almost impossible for conventional soldiers, and would be considered difficult even for unarmoured Spartans. Acquiring MJOLNIR Mark IV in 2559, Indigo Team's effectiveness would multiply exponentially. When they acquired prototype Vajra II variant MJOLNIR in 2542, Indigo would be the first Spartan team to be deployed in the field with fully functioning rechargable energy shields. The only missions on record for Indigo team that are not restricted by November Black clearance are the operations at Pavo Secundus and Minorca; in the former, Laura inserted in an HEV pod, joining up with an ODST squad and serving as a sniper to pick off high-value targets as they assaulted a Covenant position, capturing a number of pieces of technology intact. Later, she would reunite with the rest of the team during the withdrawal process, and was immediately redeployed to Minorca to participate in the engagements on its surface, upgrading to the MJOLNIR Mark V en route. While their exact movements are still classified, the fact that they were still present is significant, and helps to explain a number of small and otherwise anomalous discrepancies in the record. Withdrawing to Earth, Indigo would take part in the battle of Earth, like all other military units, this time upgrading to the Mark VI. After the Human-Covenant War, Indigo team's actions would again be classified November Black, though their presence in a number of missions is suspected, and in some cases all but confirmed. They seem to have taken part in Operation: TACK HAMMER, responsible for the assassination of Brute Chieftain Hephaestus. They also seem to have been present on Middangeard during the Brute's Operation Tartarus, and took part in an operation to try and save Lord Terrence Hood, though ultimately unsuccessful. They also partook in Operation: CORSAIR and Operation: LAMENTATION, though in what capacity remains unknown - though separate engagements, the two were filed together in the groups mission file. Afterwards, they seem to have once again dropped off the grid, to eventually resurface during the Second Great War. Equipment Jeremy has always used customised MJOLNIR variants that allow him to operate heavy weapons with relative ease. His large frame and significant upper and lower body strength mean that he has significantly less difficulty with heavy weapons, such as heavy machineguns or flamethrowers, and his ability to carry such powerful weaponry in an almost casual style allows him to serve almost as a mobile tank in combat, providing fire support for his other team members. For the most part, he prefers to use a AIE-486H heavy machine gun, which he affectionately refers to as "Sascha", but he has also been known to use other weapons of a similar calibre, such as the M7957/defoliant projector Remarks *"You hear all the rumours of Spartans as killing machines, and then you see them up close and you realise that they really are like that. It doesn't really hit you as something believable, until you see a seven-foot cyborg smash a fist right through a Grunt." *"My platoon was pinned down at Magog, and a platoon of Wraith tanks were moving up to our position. Next thing I know, rockets start raining down on the Covenant, bringing the platoon to a halt - we managed to withdraw, and from what I heard not a single Covie made it back to their frontlines. I never got to thank the guy." *"The guy has a Russian accent - you'd think after so long on Reach, he'd have lost it, or at least had it softened a little. I guess when the government takes your childhood and family away from you, you fight to keep what you do have."